Forget the EU Subplot; Maidan Was About Splitting Ukraine From Russia

Kiev’s aspirations to join the EU have been struck another serious blow, with the Dutch prime minister saying that Ukraine may never be allowed membership in the bloc. Experts suggest that the remarks are another confirmation that Brussels never planned on granting Ukraine membership, and simply used it for its geopolitical tug-of-war with Moscow.

On Wednesday, in an interview for the Dutch news portal NU.nl, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte suggested that Ukraine should never be allowed to join the European Union, because the country must have good relations with both Brussels and Moscow, and that would be impossible if it were a member of the EU.

Rutte’s remarks came ahead of an advisory referendum in his country on whether to support or reject Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, which was signed in 2014, but remains unratified by the Netherlands. The prime minister, for his part, said that he supports association, insisting that it serves in the interest of ensuring “stability on the edge of Europe.”

The Dutch prime minister’s comments are the latest in a series of recent commentary by top-tier European politicians looking to check Kiev’s EU aspirations. Last month, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Ukraine would have to wait up to a quarter-century to join the EU and NATO.